Apparatus for pressing and baking dough discs

ABSTRACT

A pair of cooperating heating and pressing plates for converting a ball of dough into a flat baked disc, such as a tortilla, are mounted between vertical side frames of a supporting frame structure. The one heating and pressing unit is fixedly mounted at an angle to the horizontal sufficient to insure the gravitational discharge of the baked tortilla. The movable plate is shifted by a manually operable cam. All elements of the apparatus are secured in position between the side frames by a plurality of manually operable bolts, thus permitting the rapid disassembly of the apparatus for cleaning purposes and the equally rapid reassembly of the apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an apparatus for manually pressing a ball ofdough into a flat disc configuration and then effecting the baking ofthe disc by the same plates that accomplished the pressing, and moreparticularly, to an apparatus for producing tortillas.

2. SUMMARY OF PRIOR ART

In prior patents issued to the Assignee of this invention, namely U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,724,755 and 4,769,252, there is disclosed a combinationpressing and baking mechanism for converting balls of dough into thinflat baked discs, such as tortillas. The pressing unit comprises a pairof relatively pivotally movable heated pressing plates. The lowermostpressing plate is disposed at a substantial angle to the horizontal whenin its remote position relative to the upper pressing plate. The angleof the lower pressing plate is selected to effect the gravitationallyinduced sliding of the pressed disc of dough off the lower pressingplate and onto a horizontally movable heating plate or disc of an oven.The apparatus disclosed in these two prior patents is designed to permitthe continuous production of tortillas at a substantial rate and hencethe pressing operation, which requires a minimum of time, is separatedfrom the baking operation which requires a greater time and hence isdesigned to permit a plurality of discs of dough to be concurrentlybaked.

There are many restaurants producing tortillas wherein the volumerequired is substantially in excess of the capability of the pressingand baking machines disclosed in said prior patents. There is a needtherefore, for a pressing and baking apparatus for forming baked discsof dough, such as tortillas, which may be manually operated to effectthe pressing and the baking of the dough disc by the same apparatus.Such an arrangement will greatly reduce the cost of the tortilla makingmachine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a U-shaped frame structure, preferably formed bystamping a stainless steel sheet which has a pair of horizontallyspaced, vertical side walls or side frames interconnected by a bottomwall or bottom frame. A pair of combined pressing and heating plates aremounted between said side frames. One of such plates is fixedly mountedbetween the side frames and the other plate is pivotally mounted so asto be movable between two positions relative to the fixed plate. In theone position, the movable plate is remote from the fixed plate adistance permitting the insertion of a ball of dough between the plates.In the second position, the movable plate is positioned a selecteddistance from the fixed plate corresponding to the desired thickness ofthe disc of dough or tortilla to be baked between the plates. Each ofthe plates is provided with a support box on the surface opposite itsdough contacting surface. Each support box contains an electricalheating unit capable of transmitting sufficient heat to the adjacentsurface of the respective plate to effect the baking of a tortillatherebetween when the movable plate is disposed in its pressingposition.

The fixed plate is disposed at an angle relative to the horizontal whichhas sufficient inclination to insure that the baked tortilla willgravitationally slide off the upwardly facing one of the fixed andmovable plates when the movable plate is moved to its first remoteposition with respect to the fixed plate. Thus no scraping of the doughengaging surface of the fixed or movable plates will be required toeffect the discharge of the baked disc of dough from the apparatus.

The movable plate is manually shifted into its pressing positionrelative to the fixed plate by a manually pivoted cam. The cam has atubular central portion which is pivotally mounted on a stationary pivotshaft which extends between the two side frames. A projecting handleextends outwardly from the tubular body portion of the cam to permit theapplication of substantial force to the cam and hence to the movableplate as it moves into its final pressing position relative to the fixedplate.

A special feature of the invention resides in the mounting of thevarious elements of the machine between the side frames. The fixed plateis secured between the side frames by manually operable bolts whichrespectively traverse the side frames and operatively engage the supportbox for the fixed plate. By manually operable bolt is meant a bolthaving a radially enlarged head portion which can be readily grasped bythe operator and either tightened or loosened without need for tools.Similarly, the movable plate is pivotally mounted on a shaft whichtraverses the space between the two side frames and the ends of theshaft have threaded bores which are respectively engaged by two moremanually operable bolts traversing the side frames. In similar fashion,the pivot shaft for mounting the manually operable cam is held inposition between the two side frames by two more pivot bolts. Lastly, anelectrical control box, containing plug type receptacles for effectingelectrical connections to the two pressing and heating plates and anoff/on switch, is designed so as to be snugly insertable between the twoside frames and held in position by two more manually operable bolts.

With the foregoing construction, relying on manually operable bolts forholding all of the operative elements of the pressing and baking machinein position, it is readily apparent that the entire machine may bequickly disassembled to permit thorough cleaning of the pressing andbaking plates, cam mechanism, and even the U-shaped frame member. Thisis a great advantage to the restaurant operator who requires only asmall volume of tortillas to be produced. Assembly is accomplished withequal speed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparentfrom the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theannexed sheets of drawings, on which is shown a preferred embodiment ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled tortilla pressing andbaking machine embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane 3--3 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 2, there is shown anapparatus 1 embodying this invention for pressing and baking a disc ofdough such as a tortilla. Such machine preferably comprises a unitaryframe structure 10. Frame structure 10 is integrally formed by stampingoperations on a sheet of stainless steel to provide two horizontallyspaced, vertical side frames 12 secured by a bottom frame 14. Obviouslyside frames 12 could be welded or bolted to bottom frame 14.Additionally, an upstanding flange 16 is formed on one edge of thebottom frame for a use that will be later exexplained.

A pair of pressing and heating units 20 and 30 are provided for mountingin cooperative relationship between the side frames 14. The pressingunit 20 comprises a pressing and heating plate 22 having a doughcontacting planar surface 22a and an opposed heat receiving surface 22b.A support box 24 is rigidly secured to the heat receiving surface 22b.An electrical heating element 26, shown only by dotted lines in FIG. 2,is conventionally mounted within the support box 24 to impart heat tothe heat transfer surface 22b, hence heating the dough engaging surface22a of the pressing and heating plate 22 to the desired bakingtemperature.

The pressing and heating plate unit 20 is mounted in a fixed positionbetween the side frames 12, as indicated in FIG. 1, and is disposed at asubstantial angle to the horizontal for reasons to be later discussed.It is secured in this fixed position by two pairs of manually operablebolts 5 with each pair respectively traversing the side frames 12, andwashers 15 to threadably engage the adjacent sidewalls of the supportbox 24. An electrical cord 28 extends out of support box 24 forconnection to a suitable energy source, as will be described.

The second pressing and heating unit 30 is of generally similarconstruction to the aforedescribed unit 20. Thus the pressing andheating unit 30 includes a pressing and heating plate 32 having a doughcontacting surface 32a and an opposed heat receiving surface 32b. Asupport box 34 is rigidly secured to the heat receiving surface 32b andhouses an electrical heating element 36 which is shown only in dottedlines in FIG. 3. An electrical cord 38 supplies energy to the electricalheating element 36.

The second pressing and heating unit 30 is pivotally mounted between thevertical side frames 12 so as to be movable between two positionsrelative to the fixedly mounted first pressing and heating unit 20. Inthe one position, shown in FIG. 1, the movable pressing and heating unit30 is located in a remote position relative to the fixed pressing andheating unit 20, so that a ball of dough may be readily inserted betweenthe dough contacting surfaces 22a and 32a. The second position of themovable pressing and heating unit 30 relative to the fixed pressing andheating unit 20 places the dough engaging surfaces in substantiallyparallel adjacent relationship, with the separation of surfaces 22a and32a being reduced to the desired thickness of the disc of doughcompressed between dough engaging surfaces 22a and 32a.

The pivotal mounting of the second pressing and heating unit 20 isaccomplished by a horizontal shaft 35 which is journalled in the opposedside walls 34a of the support box 34. Shaft 35 has threaded bores 35a ineach end and a pair of manually operable bolts 5 respectively traversethe side frames 12 and threadably engage bores 35a.

The second heating and pressing unit 30 is therefore pivotally movableinto a position substantially parallel to the dough contacting surface22a of the first heating and pressing unit 20 but spaced therefrom adistance corresponding to the desired thickness of the baked tortilla.

The pivotally mounted second heating and pressing unit 30 is manuallyshifted from its first remote position to its second operative positionby a cam structure 40. Cam structure 40 includes a cam 42 which isabuttable with the underside of the support box 34. The medial portionof the cam 42 is mounted on a bearing 44 which is pivotally mounted on atransverse shaft 46 which is secured in a horizontal positionintermediate the side frames 12 by two more manually operable bolts 5.The other end of cam 42 forms the shank portion 45a of a handle 45 foreffecting the rotation of cam 42 and hence the relative pivotal movementof the two pressing and heating plates 22 and 32.

The angular movement of the cam 42 is limited by a slot 46a provided inan L-shaped bracket 46 which is secured to the bottom frame 14 inupstanding relationship by suitable screws. Another manually operablebolt 5 traverses the slot 45a and limits the angular movement of the cam42 to the extent desired.

The electrical cords 28 and 38 extending from the heating units of thepressing and heating plates 22 and 32 are best shown in the explodedview of FIG. 2 and it will be seen that they terminate in plugs 28a and38a respectively and pass through openings 16a provided in theupstanding flange 16 formed on what is the front end of the bottom frame14. The upstanding flange 16 provides a back plate against which anelectrical control box 50 may be abutted. The length of the control box50 is selected so that the box 50 is snugly insertable between the twoforward ends of the side frames 12 and is secured at that position bystill another pair of manually operable bolts 5. The electrical controlbox 50 includes a power cord 52, two female electric plugs (not shown)for respectively receiving the plugs 28a and 38a, an on/off switch 54and an indicating light 56. To protect the electrical plugs 28b and 38bfrom drippage, an L-shaped sheet metal cover plate 60 is provided whichcovers the electrical cords and plugs and is secured by a dependingflange 61 between flange 16 and the control box 50.

Lastly, a baked tortilla guide 65 formed of stamped sheet metal,preferably stainless steel, is provided which snaps over the rearwardedge of the bottom frame 14 as best shown in FIG. 3.

The operation of the aforedescribed apparatus will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art. A ball of dough is manually insertedbetween the two heating and pressing units 20 and 30 when the movableunit 30 is in its remote position as shown in FIG. 3. The cam 42 is thenactuated by the handle 46 to bring the movable heating and pressingplate 32 into a position substantially parallel to but slightly spacedfrom the dough contacting surface of the fixed plate 22 to conform tothe desired thickness of the baked tortilla. The heating and pressingplates 22 and 32 will have already been heated up to baking temperatureso that the pressed disc is rapidly baked while the heating and pressingplates 22 and 32 remain in their pressing positions. When the pressingis completed, the movable heating and pressing unit 30 is shifted to itsremote position by an operation of the handle 45 and the baked tortilladisc is moved by gravity from the surface of movable pressing andheating plate 32 which has an upwardly facing surface engaging the doughdisc. For this reason, the inclination of the fixed heating and pressingunit 20 with respect to the horizontal must be selected to provide asufficiently great angle to insure the gravitational discharge of thebaked tortilla. To facilitate such discharge, the dough contactingsurfaces may have an anti-friction coating applied, such as that soldunder the trademark "Teflon".

The prominent feature of the aforedescribed apparatus is the employmentof the multitude of hand operable bolts 5. As illustrated in FIG. 2,each hand operated bolt 5 comprises a threaded shank portion 5a andradially enlarged head portion 5b which is of sufficient size that themanual application of a torque will be sufficient to rigidly secure thebolts to whatever element they are threadably engaging, or conversely,to permit the manual loosening of the bolts 5. Thus, the entireapparatus may be disassembled into its component parts by manuallyremoving the manually operable bolts 5. This greatly facilitates thecleaning of the device. The reassembly of the machine is equallyconvenient, requiring only the insertion of the manually operable bolts5 into the respective threaded bores receiving such bolts.

Modifications of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art. For example, the fixed heating plate unit 20 can bepositioned so that its pressing and heating surface 22a is facingupwardly and the movable pressing and heating plate unit 30 will thenhave a downwardly facing dough contacting surface 32a cooperating withthe fixed dough contacting surface 22a. A motor or solenoid could beprovided for actuating the cam assemblage 40 instead of the manualhandle. All such modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: 1.Apparatus for pressing and baking a flat disc of dough comprising:a pairof plate-like side frames; a bottom frame rigidly connecting said sideframes in horizontally spaced, vertical relationship; an upper pressingand heating plate having a lower dough engaging surface and an upperheat receiving surface; a first support box having two opposed parallelsidewalls rigidly secured to said upper heat receiving surface; aplurality of manually operable bolts respectively traversing said sideframes and respectively engagable with said opposed side walls of saidfirst support box to rigidly secure said first support box between saidside frames with said dough engaging surface of said upper heating platedisposed at a selected angle to the horizontal; first electrical heatingmeans disposed within said support box for heating said dough engagingsurface of said upper pressing and heating plate; a lower pressing andheating plate having an upper dough engaging surface and a lower heatreceiving surface; a second support box having two opposed parallel sidewalls rigidly secured to said lower heat receiving surface of said lowerpressing and heating plate; second electrical heating means disposedwithin said second support box for heating said dough engaging surfaceof said lower pressing and heating plate; means for pivotally mountingsaid second support box between said side frames on a horizontal axispositioned to mount said lower pressing and heating plate for pivotalmovement in a vertical plane between a first position remote from saidupper pressing and heating plate, and a second position parallel to saiddough engaging surface of said upper pressing and heating plate andspaced a selected distance therefrom corresponding to the desiredthickness of the disc of dough to be pressed between said upper andlower pressing and heating plates; said last mentioned means including apair of manually operable bolts traversing said side frames and coaxialwith said horizontal axis; and cam means abutting said second boxsupport for shifting said lower pressing and heating plate between saidfirst and second positions relative to said upper pressing and heatingplate, whereby both said pressing and heating plates may be removedwithout tools from said side frames for cleaning or repair purposes. 2.Apparatus for pressing and baking a flat disc of dough comprising:a pairof plate-like side frames; a bottom frame rigidly connecting said sideframes in horizontally spaced, vertical relationship; an upper pressingand heating plate having a lower dough engaging surface and an upperheat receiving surface; a first support box having two opposed parallelside walls rigidly secured to said upper heat receiving surface; aplurality of manually operable bolts traversing said side frames andrespectively threadably engagable with said opposed side walls of saidfirst support box to rigidly secure said support box between said sideframes with said dough engaging surface of said upper pressing andheating plate disposed at a selected angle to the horizontal; firstelectrical heating means disposed within said first support box forheating said dough engaging surface of said upper pressing and heatingplate; a lower pressing and heating plate having an upper dough engagingsurface and a lower heat receiving surface; a second support box havingopposed, parallel side walls rigidly secured to said lower heatreceiving surface of said lower pressing and heating plate; secondelectrical heating means disposed within said second support box forheating said dough engaging surface of said lower pressing plate; meansfor pivotally mounting said second support box between said side frameson a horizontal axis positioned to mount said lower pressing and heatingplate for pivotal movement in a vertical plane between a first positionremote from said upper pressing and heating plate, and a second positionparallel to said lower dough engaging surface of said upper pressing andheating surface and spaced a selected distance therefrom correspondingto the desired thickness of the disc of dough to be pressed between saidupper and lower pressing and heating plates; said pivotally mountingmeans including a first pair of manually operable bolts traversing saidside plates and operably engagable with said support box in co-axialrelation to the axis of pivotal movement of said lower pressing andheating plate; cam means for shifting said lower pressing and heatingplate between said first and second positions relative to said upperpressing and heating plate, said cam means including a horizontal axispivot shaft; and a second pair of manually operable bolts respectivelytraversing said side frames in axial alignment and respectively engagingthe ends of said horizontal axis pivot shaft, whereby both said pressingand heating plates and said cam means may be manually removed from saidside frames for cleaning or repair purposes.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1wherein said second support box has two opposed side walls parallel tosaid side plates,a shaft rotationally mounted between said opposed sidewalls; and said shaft having internal threads at each end respectivelyengaged by said second pair of manually operable bolts.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said manually operable bolts comprise athreaded shank portion and a head portion radially enlarged to bereadily grasped by hand.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, 2, or 3 furthercomprising an electrical control box shaped to fit snugly between saidside frames; andanother pair of manually operable bolts respectivelytraversing said side frames and operatively engaging said electricalcontrol box.
 6. Apparatus for pressing and baking a flat disc of doughcomprising:a pair of plate-like side frames; a bottom frame rigidlyconnecting said side frames in horizontally spaced, verticalrelationship; a pair of pressing and heating plates; first manuallyoperable bolt means for fixedly mounting one of said plates between saidside frames; second manually operable bolt means for pivotally mountingthe second of said plates between said side frames on a horizontal axispositioned to mount said lower pressing and heating plate for pivotalmovement in a vertical plane between a first position remote from saidupper pressing and heating plate, and a second position parallel to saiddough engaging surface of said upper pressing and heating plate andspaced a selected distance therefrom corresponding to the desiredthickness of the disc of dough to be pressed between said upper andlower pressing and heating plates; said one plate being disposed at asufficient angle to the horizontal to insure the gravitational dischargeof a baked disc of dough when said second plate is disposed in saidfirst position; and means abutting said second pressing and heatingplate for shifting said second pressing and heating plate between saidfirst and second positions relative to said first pressing and heatingplate, whereby both said pressing and heating plates may be removedwithout tools from said side frames for cleaning or repair purposes. 7.The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said manually operable bolt meanscomprises a threaded shank portion and a head portion radially enlargedto be readily grasped and tightened or released by hand.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein said second pressing and heating plate ispivotally mounted on a horizontal shaft; andsaid horizontal shaft havingthreaded bores in each end to respectively receive said second manuallyoperable bolt means.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising anelectrical control box shaped to fit snugly between said side frames;andthird manually operable bolt means traversing said side frames andoperatively engaging said electrical control box to removably securesaid electrical control box between said side frames.
 10. The apparatusof claim 6 wherein said side frames and said bottom frame are integrallyformed by stamping operations on a metal sheet.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10 wherein an upstanding flange is integrally formed on onetransverse edge of said bottom frame, and further comprising anelectrical control box shaped to fit snugly between said side frames andin abutting relation to said upstanding flange; andthird manuallyoperable bolt means traversing said side frames and threadably engagingsaid electrical control box.